Careem burns quite a few with ‘lighthearted’ runaway bride ad

Careem has drawn the ire of social media users over its recent marketing campaign. The transportation company often comes up with ‘out of the box’ creative concepts.

However, a billboard of a runaway bride with the catchphrase ‘apni shadi se bhagna hai to Careem Bike karwao’ seems to have triggered a lot of nerves. Many have called for a boycott of Careem’s taxi and ride-hailing services.

Ansar Abbasi, a journalist at The News called the campaign very “shameful”.

Academic Nida Kirmani tweeted: “Pehle Aurat March ke posters aur ab Careem ka ad. Seems like Pakistan is a country full of judgmental aunties and uncles with zero sense of humour and too much time on their hands.”

Pehle #AuratMarch ke posters aur ab #Careem ka ad. Seems like Pakistan is a country full of judgmental aunties and uncles with zero sense of humour and too much time on their hands.

When approached for a comment, Careem Head of Communications Madeeha Javed Qureshi declined to comment.

However, sources in Careem told Pakistan Today that the campaign was done to promote Careem Bike and it did not have any underlying social motive. It was intended as a “lighthearted promotion”, they added.

It must be noted that the billboard was part of a wider campaign to promote their bike services. The catchphrases on other billboards refer to a tailor that has ruined his client’s clothes, a jibe at the recently captured and released Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan and a boy that wants to escape his mother’s chittar.